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The Bird Scene

The Bird Scene is a monologue that all new students at Hollywood Arts must perform in front of their class and pass before they can take part in any school plays. Although Tori did well each time, she asked if she did well twice, which resulted in her failing twice. For a student to pass the Bird Scene, he/she must not question his/her performance and be confident that he/she did well no matter what other people say.

Plot

Tori's first attempt for her locker design.

Tori in her final attempt of the Bird Scene.

Tori and Trina go to school, excited to find the list of play roster for the new semester. André had suggested that Tori try out for the lead in Moonlight Magic, a play Tori had originally worked on with André. This left Trina in complete shock, as she thinks of herself as a brilliant actress.

The list of new plays for the semester.

André, Beck, and Robbie tell Tori that she has to decorate her locker, as it is mandatory, as well as a Hollywood Arts tradition. With no ideas in mind, Tori asks the guys what they did to decorate their lockers. Robbie made a mosaic of all the baby bottle nipples from his childhood, representing his happier times, which creeps Tori out. André installed a customized keyboard. Beck has a "transparent" locker, to show that he has nothing to hide.

While in acting class, Sikowitz throws a ball at Cat's face during a skit. When Cat complains that the throw really hurt, Sikowitz defends himself by saying that any good actor should be able to face any distractions and still focus on their scene. The bell rings, signaling lunchtime. Sikowitz throws a ball near Tori's face, requesting that she stay and mingle with him. Sikowitz tells her that she cannot audition for Moonlight Magic, as she had not passed 'The Bird Scene' (see above), which is a monologue all students must pass in order to try out for any plays at the school.

Tori goes throughout the week performing her lines well and inserting genuine emotion for The Bird Scene, yet she never gets it right. Every time Tori asks Sikowitz, he says that she did a fantastic job, but she didn't pass the test. Tori's friends are unable to help her, as all the students took a pledge that they would never help anyone with The Bird Scene. A frustrated Tori goes to drastic measures. First, she gives Cat several Red-Hot candies and handcuffs her to a railing, telling Cat that she will not give her water unless she tells her the secret to The Bird Scene. Tori then flirts with Robbie, as he has a massive crush on her, but he escapes by claiming that his puppet Rex has to go to the bathroom.

After her second attempt at the scene failed, Tori bursts with frustration. On her third try, Tori tells Sikowitz that her performance was great regardless of what anyone says, and that she doesn't know what she is doing wrong. Sikowitz then applauds her, along with rest of the class. Sikowitz tells Tori that she has passed the Bird Scene and that the moral of the scene is to believe in her own choices as an artist.

At the end of the episode, Tori's finished locker is finally revealed. On it, Tori put up a poster that says 'Make It Shine' in big bubble letters. To everyone's surprise, Tori installed a button that can light up the whole locker. Everyone except Jade is enthusiastic about the design.

Subplot

Meanwhile, André and Robbie sign up for a ballet class so that they can meet girls. However, many other boys had the same idea, as the class is filled with boys. They are unable to quit the class because if they do, they'll fail. When, for once, a girl actually comes in, all the boys in the class mob her. André and Robbie try to impress her by doing a difficult ballet dance, injuring both of them badly. They both ended up hitting each other in the groin area, and had to ice off afterward.

Trivia

The bird from the scene.

These are the locker customizations of the students we see in this episode:

Tori: A blue background with MAKE IT SHINE on it, with various lights capable of lighting it up.

Jade, Cat, and Trina's lockers were the only ones we didn't see, although Jade's locker is seen in Wok Star; it's covered with scissors.

It took Tori three tries to pass the Bird Scene.

The bird Tori uses for the bird scene is a white umbrella cockatoo.

All students must pass this scene (which is Tradition Level 1) in order to take part in any school plays (Tradition Level 2) in the Hollywood Arts handbook.

This is the first time Cat and Trina are seen talking to each other.

The Wahoo Punch machine is the same machine that is seen in the iCarly episode "iTake on Dingo" and is seen throughout the rest of the series.

This is the first episode where the title is said.

This is the first time we see Tori wearing glasses.

This episode is filmed one year after the pilot.

This is the first time the opening credits with the song "Make It Shine " is seen.

This is the first episode not to feature a song.

Ending Tagline: "This is gettin' weird." - Rex

This is the first time Beck's locker is seen.

Goofs

When Sikowitz throws a ball at Tori, but misses, the two are then seen together, and the ball is right next to Sikowitz. That ball was blue, the one he had thrown at Tori was green.

There is no way Sikowitz could have thrown the ball at Cat the second time because in the previous scene with Tori not only was there no ball near him but no way he could have found the ball in the limited amount of time between the scenes.

When Beck, Robbie, and André are talking at lunch, Beck is picking up his coffee. When the camera switches to a different angle, his coffee is back on the table and he is picking it up again.

At the beginning of this episode, when André and Robbie are going down the stairs, you can see André's belt was raised up, but the other scene it doesn't show. However, when they reach the bottom of the stairs, it's raised up again and shown.

When Sikowitz threw the ball at Cat at the beginning, Cat would've got a red ball mark but it doesn't appear. Or she would have got dizzy (pending by how hard the ball was or the pace).

There is a goof both in Pilot and this episode. When Tori has her locker done, the red locker beside it moves to the very end and the green-ish locker that was in the very end (to the right) isn't in that spot anymore when Tori makes her locker.

It was lunchtime after Sikowitz's class, which usually means that it was fourth period, but in Pilot, Sikowitz's class was first period. (Although it was a different day so they could have had Sikowitz at different times of the day)

Tori technically passed The Bird Scene on her second attempt, but she was interrupted as she started yelling at Sikowitz.

Quotes

[Sikowitz throws a ball at Tori; it hits the wall next to her. She screams]Tori: What was that for?! I'm not acting right now!Sikowitz: We need to chat.Tori: And "Tori, can I see you?" wouldn't have worked?Andre:[Walking out] Have fun.Beck:[Following him] Protect your face.

Sikowitz: Drive-by acting exercise! You're all angry Englishmen! GO!Robbie: Ah! I insist you tell me who sat on me crumpet!Jade: My grandmummy went to the loo while I snogged the Prime Minister!Andre: This flock o' whippoorwills is botherin' my trousers!Cat: Good heavens! There's a dead cockroach in my brassiere!Rex: Blimey!Beck: I told you not to put plum sauce on me banger!

Sikowitz: Tori, the stage is yours, though you can't take it home.

Cat: It's so gross how he's always hitting on every girl.Rex: I never hit on you.Cat: What's that supposed to mean?!

Robbie: What's the deal with Sikowitz and coconuts?Jade: He says the milk gives him visions.

Tori: Before we begin, I'd like you to have these two large coconuts.Sikowitz: Wonderful! You know their milk gives me visions.Tori: I've heard.

Tori: Cat!Cat: Hey!Tori: You have to try something! [She pulls out handcuffs]Cat: Handcuffs?Tori: Uh-huh. Put them on one wrist. [She puts them on] Good! Now, we lock the other part here...Cat: Fun!Tori: 'Kay, now try this. [She holds out a piece of candy]Cat:[Gasps] Ooo! Candy! [She eats it] Mmm...This is so...so hot! What are these?!Tori: Choo-Choo Peppers.Cat: Ch-Choo?! Ugh! They're burning my mouth!Tori: I know! Want some water?Cat: Yes!Tori: Tell me the secret to the Bird Scene!Cat: I can't, and I need water!Tori: Oh, fine! [She throws her a bottle of water and leaves, but doesn't uncuff her]Cat: Wait, Tori! [Drinks water] Tori! Mmm...water.

Sikowitz: Ladies and gentlemen, once again, the Bird Scene, starring Tori...Tori:[Pops her head from behind the curtain] Vega.Sikowitz: Vega!

Tori:[in a country accent] It was 1934 and my husband left me, alone. Living on the prairie was a dreary existence. No telephone, no radio. Only a large majestic bird with whom I shared my feelings. [whistles. Bird flies in]Sikowitz:[leans over to Beck] you see the bird too right?Beck: Yeah.Sikowitz: Fantastic. [sips his coconut]Tori: One day when I was feeling low I said to him, 'Oh bird, you can fly. You can fly miles form this place yet you stay. Why?' [shakes her head and the bird flies out] And my question rang true for that afternoon, the bird left, and so went my spirit. [puts her head down]Sikowitz: That, was impressive.Tori: So did I get it right?Sikowitz: Nope!Tori: But...but I just... I DID TOO GET IT RIGHT!Sikowitz: Tori listen...Tori:[yelling] I'M NOT TRYING TO BE DISRESPECTFUL OR ANYTHING BUT DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD I WORKED ON THIS SCENE? I MADE THIS COSTUME, I DOWNLOADED SPECIAL PRAIRIE MUSIC, I EVEN TRAINED THAT CRAZY COCKATOO TO FLY IN AND OUT THAT WINDOW, ON COMMAND [bird flies inside] NOT NOW! Now I know you're a great acting teacher and all but I don't care what you say. The scene I just did was good. And I'm proud of it no matter what anybody thinks!

Tori: Ah! Uh, uh, uh! I believe in my own choices, and I don't need approval from others.Beck: Ah, the young female has learned the ways of the Bird Scene.Jade: I still think it's dull.Tori: Yeah? Well, maybe I should...make it shine. [She presses a button and her locker lights up]